Chapter Ten
It was a rough and long road leading to the construction site, it was mostly up-hill and all were happy to exit the large Bushmaster. The project was high upon a small mesa. Ernie whistled as he saw the panorama around him. “I can see for miles and miles and miles. Is that Reggane over there Abdul?”
“Indeed, and to the left is the airport we left from. It is overcast now and the view is extensive, but in mid- summer, it is near impossible to see beyond the ridge. When you study the map, you will see that this mountain ridge forms a crude unbroken wall, around an enormously deep and extended valley. Miss Aggie has chosen this place well.”
“Ah, here is Mister Aaron.”
Aaron Johns was happy to see them. He had been thrown into a situation not to his liking; he was carrying the weight of the entire enterprise on his shoulders, he was the default top dog, and although he was quite capable of carrying out the remainder of the construction, he needed the expertise and guidance of Professor Lien, Hell I’m an engineer not a physics geek. Yes, he was delighted to see this delegation from KHQ. Hallelujah some relief at last, he thought.
“Aaron, good to see you again; may I introduce Mister Ken Kain; he’s a private consultant and helping us in this matter.”
“Very pleased to meet you Ken. And Abdul, Ahlan sadiqi, maljadeed, and welcome Ernie, please, this way. We have refreshments in the Mess Hall and the temperature is fairer inside. Ernie, we have a store with suitable clothing for this weather; you look a bit chilled in those shorts.”
“That was one hell of a drive getting here Aaron; I thought we had two choppers.”
“Yes we have. The SkyLifter is tied down at our site helipad over there, and the Osprey is in Algiers. Sorry you had to rough it by road; the thing is, last week Professor Lien had ordered a no fly zone of 80 miles around us, so it’s had to be road transport.”
“Well I guess you want to start straight away Ernie. I’ve set up a room for your office and let me be the first to volunteer for your Lie Detector examination.”
“And then my little group of sentries please,” suggested Abdul, being eager to show his willingness to co-operate, “they are some of the finest security guardians in Algeria.”
-oOo-
“Mister Ernie, I must get one of these machines for myself; it would be so much better than stretching racks, electrodes and sodium pentothal.” Abdul was admiring Ernie’s Galvanic Skin Resistance Monitor.
“You’re welcome to have this one when I’ve finished here. It’s really only a supersensitive resistance meter that picks up abnormalities in peoples’ brain waves, especially if one lies; a souped up lie detector, I like it and no one has ever fooled it.”
The queue of workers and contractors became shorter and by lunchtime, the last of the labourers had been interviewed. It was a quick and short interrogation; the worker was invited to sit down and was asked for permission to be interviewed...with a lie detector attached. A soft padded clamp was then placed on the index finger and the process began.
The same questions were asked of each; and they were short, simple and direct. “Do you know anything about the professor’s absence?” “Do you know of anyone who may know about the professor’s absence?” “Do you have any grievances against this company or its supervisors or other employees?” “Have you been approached by any other organization or person to provide information for them?”
The latter question was deliberately omitted when Ernie interviewed Abdul’s security guards; he knew they would fail miserably; and it was a courtesy to Abdul
“You have a happy crew here Ernie; all passed your tests; and we still dance in the wind-storm with eyes open. My office also, has nothing to report. Perhaps our Special Forces warrior will have some fortune out there on the ground.”
“Abdul, may I ask you; do you know exactly what the professor was working on? I mean the process?”
“Ah, let me answer you with your stimulating electron pulse clamp on my finger Ernie.”
“No, no, I didn’t mean anything, I didn’t mean to imply anything, I...”
“I would think you inefficient, my friend, should you not question me...here, it is on; go ahead, ask me again.”
“Do you know what the professor was working on, just before he disappeared?”
“Yes sir”
“What was he working on Abdul?”
“Ah, that question Ernie...I can only answer after I ask you some questions...using your machine.”
Both men laughed, then Ernie placed the clamp on his finger, Abdul calibrated the monitor and asked much the same questions as had been asked of the workers – plus; “Ernie, do you know exactly what the professor was working on just before he disappeared?”
“Yes I do. I was briefed by Aggie Kellor personally, before coming here.” He reached into his backpack and passed over Aggie’s letter of authority.
“Ah yes, Ambassador Amine has already contacted me about this letter.”
Abdul reached over and again clamped his own finger and invited Ernie to adjust the GSR. “To answer your question Mister Ernie; the professor was working on a secret side project. He was building a capacitor that would attract and absorb and store electro-radiation. Ah yes, lovely radio-active contamination – an abundant and poisonous resource left to our nation and our future generations, by the French colonialists.” He turned his head and spit on the floor. “Mister Rienus nicknamed the capacitor the FRENCH VC; his Fancy Radioactive Energising Nuclear Collector and Harvester Vacuum Cleaner – ha ha.” He continued, “I believe he was on the verge of the first official test trial.”
“Ernie, you know that Reggane was the epicentre of many atmospheric atomic blasts back in the 1960s – and many more North of here at Adrair. Those were mainly underground and in tunnels in the mountains. If that capacitor machine works, it would be an effective, and brilliant, way to clean-up this entire area. A lot of our country has been wrecked by irresponsible and selfish imperial vandalism. Kellor Resources have also promised to provide clean water which would be a by-product of the process – so everything associated with this project is wonderful. I know it, and so does our President, Prime Minister and only a few others...the capacitor is truly a well kept State secret. In the eyes of my compatriots, Kellor Resources is going to provide the nation with clean electrical power, virtually for gratis; they do not know yet of the vacuum cleaner or the water.”
Ernie turned the GSR off and removed the clamp. “Abdul I guess there would be a lot of people not wanting this installation to be a success; most of the oil and gas producers, in fact the entire hydrocarbon industry, the Germans with their super solar farm up north, your friends to the East and South, and we can’t discount the Salafists either.”
“True, and a camel’s pox on them and Al Qaida. You see our country is one of the more stable in Africa, but we are still plagued with uprisings, intrigue and disharmony. I must admit that this matter with the professor has me boobombled Ernie.”
-oOo-
Aaron had been showing Ken around the site, and pointed out things of interest, the huts, caravans and buildings. “That is the block Professor Lien has been working in for the last few days. He often worked well into the night. It was just after midnight when I saw him leave. I was outside, drinking some hot chocolate at the time; I only looked towards his direction because he must have slammed the security door. He was heading to his cabin, over there. I also headed off to my own digs; over there. Next morning I didn’t see him at the Mess for breakfast; very unlike him to miss breakfast. I asked a few of my people if they had seen him, none had. That’s when I went to his cabin. He wasn’t there and it looked like he didn’t spend the night there at all.”
“His Harley Trike was still under a tarp, I felt the motor; it was cold. I looked for tracks but there had been a small sandstorm in the early hours. I alerted Abdul’s security guards and we gathered more people and had a sweep of the whole site.
Nothing. We then widened our sweep around the outer perimeter of the base; still nothing. That’s when I contacted Abdul via the consulate in Algiers to report the matter. Gees. I hope Ernie and his toy can gleam some information out of our people.”
“Aaron, could it be remotely possible that it may have been someone else that you saw leaving the building?”
“No, I saw Rienus clearly. There is a sensor light outside on the security door; it lit up and I saw his face; I guess I should have hollered “goodnight” or something, but I kept sipping the chocolate and watched him walk towards his cabin. I lost sight of him when the security light went off; but he was definitely heading in the direction of his hut.”
“How was the night, full moon, half?”
“Er, quarter I think, anyway it was overcast and rather dark, but just light enough for me to find my way back to my cabin. The only noise was the hum of the generator and some music coming from another van; it was Credence Clear Water Revival; that’s right.. the song was Have You Ever Seen the Rain. I thought that was funny at the time.”
“Did the professor carry a torch? You did say it was quite dark that night.”
“Yes, he has one of those torches with the two hundred LEDs; I don’t think he turned it on after the security sensor light went off; maybe he did, after I turned away. Come to think of it, the torch wasn’t in his cabin in the morning.”
“And the building he was working in; nothing out of the ordinary?”
“No the security identification plate recorded Professor Lien’s sign-out at 2444. I checked the log; nothing out of place or unusual. I also checked the times when the security light at the doorway went on and off; it recorded 2445 on and 2446 off.”
Ernie and Abdul, came to join them as they strolled around the camp. Abdul explained that he had to return to the provincial capital.
“The powers are getting nervous and restless my friends; I need to convince them that we are doing everything possible to solve this mystery. It would be a national disaster and tragedy if Kellor Resources mean to abandon this enterprise.”
“I will return gentlemen, in a matter of days and hope to be of any assistance; adios amigos!”
They watched him climb into a Range Rover with his security guard and waved as he drove away.”
“Kenny?”
“He’s the real deal Ernie, you don’t have to worry about him. Anything from the troops Ernie? found any speakers of untruths?”
“Absolutely nothing, but at least I can rule out some of my theories; and you?”
“Not much. Aaron can you take us to the spot where you were standing... where you last saw the professor?”
They walked further. Aaron pointed down to a spot, “I was here. If you look over there, a few feet to the right of that door; that’s where I saw him walking as the security light went off. From here I went back into the mess hall, washed my cup and walked back to my cabin.”
Ernie said, “Aaron sometimes our brain absorbs things that our memory cells deem unimportant. Sorry for sounding patronizing, but do you mind if we retrace your steps back to your place as you remember them, but let’s do it in slow motion; like replaying a movie. I know it’s weird, just humour us a while....you turned back and went into the mess hall...”
“Yes, there was a night-light inside; we have continual water for tea and coffee on the boil in the mess. I didn’t turn any other lights on because I could see enough to get to the sink. I walked over to it, and turned the hot water tap on....closed the magnetic insect screen; walked here...”
They followed behind him, step by step, right back to the door of his cabin.
“Well I got to here, undid the latch, opened the door and reached for the light switch, and....oh, yes; I just remembered. Just at that moment I saw a flash of light around me; well not really around me but rather in the sky. It wasn’t a bright flash like a camera or a spotlight; it was much like the light that comes from distant lightning or a lighthouse on the horizon; you know, when it’s soft yet noticeable. It was very fast. I remember turning around to see what it was but saw nothing and didn’t think more of it.”
“There was no noise? A rumble of distant thunder perhaps?” Aaron shook his head. Ernie scratched his ear and said, “You know it would make sense if a helicopter had picked him up and taken him away. It would account for the little sandstorm covering the tracks and that mysterious light; but my problem is noise...no one heard any noises.”
Ken said, “Well it’s the best clue so far Ernie. Aaron, can we get some volunteers with brooms, soft bristle ones if possible. We need a clean sweep of the area in question, and I mean literally. If a chopper did land, it certainly would have needed lights and must have left an impression on the ground. Looking at the terrain over near the professor’s cabin, we have two patches that would be suitable for a chopper landing; I think if we lightly dust the surface we may just find a clue.”
After many hours; no clue was forthcoming.